For you cat people out there: are your felines finicky eaters? If so, what would you recommend??

[ailsagirl]

My cats are walking away from everything I feed them-- except tuna (and I know I'm not supposed to feed them that). Has anyone here had that problem? Maybe mine are just snooty...

[Lochloosa]

1. I go with the theory, once they get hungry enough...

[Arkansas Granny]

14. Yup. My kitties are both rescued feral cats. They'll eat anything.

[TexasTowelie]

2. Yes.

My brother has spoiled the cats on smoked turkey meat and they are snubbing the actual cat food. They do like the food with gravy though.

[ailsagirl]

3. Yes, mine lap up the gravy happily

...then walk away

[MH1]

23. The Sheba pates in the odd-shaped containers

are pretty saucy. I have a VERY picky kitty who kept losing weight. Vet told me to feed her whatever she would eat. I had been trying to give her Science Diet for 7+ or whatever it is, because she's 15+. Vet said don't worry about that, just get her to EAT. So now she gets whatever wet food she'll eat, plus a dry mix of "good" cat food and "kitty junk food" (also known as Temptations treats). She currently is eating up the Sheba pates. I can actually split one between her and the other kitty, and between them they finish it off in one sitting. That doesn't sound like much, but I was giving them the Meow Mix wet food (that they used to always like, and now only if they're in the mood) and had gotten to getting 2 - 3 meals out of one of the little tubs. (Keeping in mind they always have the dry mix available.) Both kitties are slender but the younger one has no issue of being too skinny.

Anyway, if you haven't, try the Sheba pates and the Temptations treats. I've also heard that Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers is "kitty crack" for some cats. Still evaluating it at my house; they don't hate it.

Good luck!

[MissB]

4. Mine got picky recently.

I think it was the streak of 100 degree weather. They just didn't seem to want to eat their dinner (wet cat food.) After a few days of trying, I gave up and provided them with their crunchy dry food.

I will wait for it to cool down and try wet food again. Of course I have a case of it.

[ailsagirl]

6. Of course!!

[nolabear]

5. I have yet to have a cat starve.

Feed them whatever healthy food you like. I favor a basic dry and a tablespoon full of juicy wet as part of our morning coffee making ritual. We all have always enjoyed it and if they want to eat later, well, there it is.

[ailsagirl]

8. I need to devise something like that

I find that when they're hungry, it definitely aids their appetites! ("hunger makes good sauce&quot

It's dangerous giving them treats because they simply don't understand the concept-- it's like they're saying, "Oh, that isn't the new cat food? Then forget it."

[LWolf]

31. That's our routine.

My cats have a feeder full of good, grain-free kibble that they can free feed from. They get a tablespoon of high quality, grain-free wet food in the morning. This ensures that I will never be late for work because the alarm didn't go off, lol.

They are glossy. Even though they have 24/7 access to the kibble, they are not fat.

[blogslut]

7. Want a list?

Because I have a list of all the things I've tried to get the meanest cat in the world to eat more than one serving of a flavor before she decides she hates it.

Sprinkle with a little bit of grated parmesan
Mix in a teensy bit of olive oil
Mix in a few drops of sesame oil
Add a little grated cheese
Cheap canned chicken
Top with a bit of melted butter
Grow cat grass
Go outside and pick some grass from the lawn
Make an edible chewy/spiky thing from strips of corn husk

For her first 12 years she ate Friskies dry food. Then one day I brought home some store brand wet food. She decided she did not like dry food anymore. Then she got tired of the store brand so I upgraded to Purina 5oz cans. Then she started getting picky about texture, then flavors. I began supplementing with those tiny cans of Fancy Feast. Then she went exclusively Fancy Feast. It has to be pate. Not even when I pulverize shreds or bits will she touch it. Then she started preferring certain flavors of Fancy Feast and as of this moment, Beef is the one she will consistently eat. Seafood flavors are right out. Use to be she would only eat the Turkey but now she hates it like Gollum hates cooked meat.

The only thing that is saving my sanity is dry Fancy Feast. I have it on hand in case I have to go somewhere overnight. When I get back home she has always finished what I set out. So, I started putting some in a little dish in my closet, leaving the door slightly ajar. She thinks I don't know she's eating it. To her, it's like a scavenged meal. Now, when she turns her nose up at her wet food I don't freak out thinking my cat is starving herself to death.

[ailsagirl]

11. Thanks for your info, blogslut

I will probably end up trying some of your suggestions. (I haven't been able to find canned chicken yet but I'm sure they'd love that... for awhile, anyway )

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. One of mine has recently decided

that all he will eat is treats, like Whisker Likins - kitty junk food, in other words. He's like a little kid who wants to live exclusively on Oreos. I got one of those "Pull & Play" toys you put dry food or treats in; it's weighted at the bottom so it pops back up when turned over, and small bits of food come out a hole. It also has sort of "feelers" made out of something edible. I thought at least he should work for his junk food. But now he whines at me until I fill the toy with treats. He eats the "feelers" and then very methodically and efficiently rolls the toy around until the food falls out and he can eat it. Once it's empty he whines at me to fill it again. The other two cats also wanted to get in on this deal so I had to buy another toy, and now they fight over both of them.

The other cats, especially the big orange and white one, are not fussy. The big guy will eat anything that has even a speck of meat in it. Trying to eat a ham sandwich in his presence is a challenge. I'm gradually weaning the other one off his treat addiction by leaving his toy empty despite his complaints.

I have no suggestions for you. Cats are inscrutable and weird.

[ailsagirl]

12. I can see this is going to be more difficult than imagined

Thanks for your input, VO!

I love my cats like crazy but feeding time is always such a circus

[area51]

10. I'm having good luck so far with Friskies "Surfin' and Turfin'" dry food n/t

[astral]

13. Little, if any, commercial food is healthy for cats.

I no longer have a cat. The way to keep a healthy cat is to make their food rather than buy it. I had a cat who would eat very few kinds of cat food and he died after seemingly to suddenly wither away. I did not make his food and learned about it afterwards.

[ailsagirl]

16. I'm sorry to hear that, astral

I've heard about making their food-- I also heard it's expensive. I wonder why it is that we can't find a cat food that is
actually good for cats.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Better-quality commercial food is available now.

There are foods that are grain-free and meat "by-products" free, and they seem to be pretty satisfactory. They are more expensive, unfortunately, but that's what I feed my guys (except when that one goofball goes on one of his cat treat binges) and they are very healthy - lots of energy and nice, shiny fur. One of my cats lived to be 21, and that was before the days of better-quality cat food. He ate standard grocery store food all his life. It's not always possible for people to make their own cat food.

[SMC22307]

18. What brand do you recommend?

My vet recently recommended Royal Canan (sp.), and another one whose name I forget. My orange boy is starting to look a bit sunken, even though his eyes, ears, nose seem fine, and his coat shiny.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Royal Canin is supposed to be good.

Last edited Sun Sep 4, 2016, 09:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Lately I've been getting a dry food made in Canada called Now. The cats like it and it's got some really good ingredients. The main thing is to get food that isn't full of corn or gluten and is mostly meat. I think there are a lot of good quality foods out there now.

[SMC22307]

20. Thanks. I'm off tomorrow and will pop on over to the local pet food store...

and see what they carry. My first cat lived a happy, healthy 17.5 years on grocery store food, but I think my orange guy needs an extra-special something.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. Sorry, I misspoke/wrote. The Canadian cat food I'm buying is called Now.

Corrected above.

[SMC22307]

22. OK, thanks. Will check it out. (n/t)

[Fla Dem]

15. My cat has eaten only one product her entire 11 years of life.

Science Diet dry cat food. My vet recommended it when I took her in for her first visit as a 4-5 month old feral kitten I rescued. It has different foods for different ages. Right now we're on Active Longevity. She gets a half cup a day and seems very content. She nibbles all day. I've tried different wet cat foods, but all she does is lick the moisture off of it and then it sits in her bowl until it becomes dry and crusty. She does love her tuna, but only gets that about once a month when I'm making tuna sandwiches. She doesn't even like treats. The last ones I bought, she gobbled up 3 right away and then proceeded to throw them up LOL.

I also took care of an outdoor feral for about 8 years. She ate the same thing. Really seemed to like it.

[womanofthehills]

24. One is a gravy lover and I buy him lots of packages of Purina Broth - it's not cheap

My other really old cat likes loves Purina Beyond grain free - pate not chunk.

They both like Purina One - ocean whitefish recipe. Seems to be a favorite.

[Generic Brad]

25. Costco breast tenderloins

Boil it for an hour and then mince in a magic Bullet. Serve warm. Refrigerate the rest and heat up a few spoonfuls in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. That is all our recently deceased baby existed on for the last two years. She could barely keep anything down and had lost all interest in food until we hit on this.

[yuiyoshida]

26. As mine gets older, he tends to have a change in what he will eat.

He used to love Shrimp, but walks away from it now, or leaves it on the living room carpet floor, Why he removes it from the bowl and takes it there is beyond me. Well the old stand by is Tuna Fish! He takes to Tuna like a junkie takes to Crack! He loves it and is all he will eat, so I get him Tuna Cat food, and of course the Iams dry kitty kibble for indoor cats.

[TexasBushwhacker]

27. Tuna cat food is fine

It's good and smelly. Just not people tuna.

[spinbaby]

28. The stuff with the broth in the little pouches

It's expensive but I haven't met a cat yet who doesn't love it.

We have an issue at the moment with a recently adopted senior cat who produces the stinkiest poops imaginable. The vet says that feeding him only dry food should fix that issue, but the cat vetoed that idea.

[ailsagirl]

30. Mine will eat real tuna only

When I tried the cat food tuna, they walk away

[alphafemale]

29. Mine will eat lots of things but unless it is seafood it will give her gas.

Getting a cat delivered dutch-oven is really...really bad.